THE Federal Govern-ment has lost ownership of controversial
Oil Prospecting License, OPL, 245 to Shell and Agip in what appeared to be
a surprise court ruling.
The development was sequel to a ruling by the Abuja Division of the Federal
High Court, yesterday which vacated the order that granted the government
interim ownership
of the disputed OPL 245 regarded as one of the biggest oilblocks in Africa.
Justice John Tsoho discharged the interim forfeiture order he issued in
favour of the federal government on January 26, following applications by two
multinational oil giants, Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company
Ltd and Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd.
Shell and Agip had in their applications, challenged the legality of the interim
forfeiture order that stripped them of their ownership of the controversial oil
bloc which the government alleged was fraudulently awarded to Malabu Oil &
Gas Ltd.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had insisted that OPL
245 was awarded to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd in 1998 by the late military
dictator, General Sani Abacha, against regulations.
EFCC, in a motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/14/2017, told the court that
investigations revealed that Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd and SPDC secured OPL 245
through a fraudulent scheme involving high scale bribery and corruption by top
management of the company and some government officials.
In a 21-paragraph affidavit by one of its operatives, Mr. Ibrahim Ahmed, the
agency told the court that the Italian Police had also conducted an extensive
investigation into the alleged fraud committed by Shell Nigeria, Agip, and
Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, culminating in a criminal charge at the Ordinary
Court of Milan.
On the basis of an ex-parte motion by the commission, Justice Tsoho, on
January 26, ordered both Shell and Agip to temporarily hands-off the disputed
oil bloc pending the prosecution of all individuals and firms indicted in the
$1.2billion Malabu oil fraud.
However, at the resumed proceeding on the matter on Friday, the interim
forfeiture order was discharged, even though the court agreed with the EFCC
that it was permissible and constitutional for the federal government to seek
an order of interim forfeiture of the OPL 245 since it was already a subject of
two pending criminal charges.
Similarly, the court upheld arguments by both Shell and Agip that the
ex-parte application upon which the interim forfeiture order was sought and
obtained, was legally defective.
Justice Tsoho further dismissed as lawless and gross abuse of judicial
process, an application that Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd filed to be joined as an
interested party in the matter that was already fixed for ruling. Malabu had
insisted that it has vested right on the contentious oil bloc, saying its
interest would be affected by whatever decision the court arrived at.
It prayed the court to allow it to also present its own side of the case
before ruling on the applications by Shell and Agip.
In his ruling, Justice Tsoho berated the firm for attempting to reopen
argument on a matter that was already okayed for ruling.
The Judge held that having vacated the interim forfeiture order it issued to
the federal government, there is no longer a suit on the matter pending before
it.
It said the parties were at liberty to file a substantive action to resolve
the dispute in relation to OPL 245.
EFCC had told the court that the Italian government was also prosecuting
some persons and firms over the $1.2bn Malabu deal.
It averred: “That the Italian Police in the charge are prosecuting Royal
Dutch Shell Plc, Eni Spa and one Scaroni who was its Managing Director,
Descalzi was also the General Manager Exploration of Eni. A copy of the charge
is hereby attached and marked as exhibits EFCC 4.
“Those also being prosecuted are one Casula and Armana who were senior
executives of Nigeria Agip Oil Company and one Pegano who was the Managing
Director of Nigeria Agip Oil Companies, one Dan Etete (former Minister of
Petroleum) and other co-conspirators.”
Tracing the origin of the case, EFCC told the court that after Abacha
“fraudulently” awarded OPL 245 to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd in 1998,
it said the company contracted Shell Petroleum and SNEPCO, in a joint venture
scheme, to operate the licence.
“That to the knowledge of Shell, the allocation of the Oil well and the
procedure adopted by the owners of Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd was fraught with
fraud but it went ahead to consummate the transaction”.
It said that a former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Dan Etete, who is
reportedly the owner of Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, and Nigerian Ambassador to
the United State of America between 1996 and 1999, Hassan Adamu, were at the
centre of the alleged oil bloc fraud.
The anti-graft agency said the federal government, on July 2, 2001, withdrew
the title and allocation of the oil bloc from Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd on the
directive of then Presidential Adviser on Petroleum to President Olusegun
Obasanjo, after which it was re-allocated to Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Ltd.
However, following a legal action Malabu instituted against the government
over the revocation of the oil bloc license, it was re-awarded OPL 245, after
an alleged shady out-of-court-settlement deal was brokered among all parties.
EFCC told the court that Shell and Agip again went into a fraudulent
agreement with Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, in which the companies will pay a
signature bonus of $210m to FG while the sum of $1.2bn would be paid to the
owners of Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd.
It said the $1.2bn was bribe paid to Etete and his cronies, adding that
Shell was at that time aware that the ex-Petroleum Minister and owner of Malabu
Oil and Gas Ltd was already a convict.
It alleged that immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, conspired with Shell and
Agip to route the bribe through the federal government Escrow Account with JP
Morgan Chase Bank in London.
“That sometime in May 2011, Nigeria Agip Exploration and SNEPCO instructed
Chase Bank to release the said $1, 092, 040, 000 USD into Escrow Account of the
Federal Government.
“That the said money on the instruction of the then AGF, Mohammed Adoke, was
transferred from the Escrow Account to two banks namely First Bank and Keystone
Bank operated by Dan Etete and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd.
“The said amount was later laundered with several accounts of individuals
and different companies, “ EFCC stated.
EFCC said its investigation further revealed that the government was
defrauded by SPDC and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd by underpaying the sum of $210m
USD as a signature bonus on OPL 245.
It will be recalled that the EFCC had earlier slammed a nine-count criminal
charge against the former AGF and eight others over the oil block scam.
Other defendants in the charge marked FHC/Abj/CR/268/2016, are Etete and an
oil mogul, Mr. Abubakar Aliyu.
Six firms- Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, Rocky Top Resource Ltd, Imperial Union
Ltd, Novel Properties & Development Company Ltd, Group Construction Ltd and
MegaTech Engineering Ltd, were also joined as defendants in the matter.
The government later filed another three-count criminal charge in which it
included Shell, Agip, four Italians, Ralph Wetzels, Casula Roberto, Pujatti
Stefeno, Burrafati Sebestiano and ENI SPA, as defendants in the suit marked
CR/124/17.
